Dishwasher Air Gap Noise

My current air gap is a cheapo Home Depot model and I get a reasonable amount of noise from the air gap as the dishwasher drains. This probably the noisiest part of using the dishwasher. Are the better quality air gaps any quieter?

I am not aware of any that are quieter. The water does flow through there. I can hear mine, but don't find it objectionable. The pump-out cycle is a relatively short duration in the overall 90 minute dishwasher run.

What material is your sink made of? I would guess that a steel or stainless sink might just be a little noisier than a cast iron, or a resin or acrylic sink.

CarlH said:

My current air gap is a cheapo Home Depot model and I get a reasonable amount of noise from the air gap as the dishwasher drains. This probably the noisiest part of using the dishwasher. Are the better quality air gaps any quieter?

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If you pop the top off your HD brand of that Air Gap....it's not cylindrical. The particular house brand from HD has a tendency for the holding nut to release from the very shallow threads.


Depending on how forceful your dishwasher is discharging is going to dictate how loud that opening will be.

I'd replace with a ZURN Air Gap....found at your local plumbing supply house, around $13-$16 and a much better assembly.

jimbo said:

What material is your sink made of? I would guess that a steel or stainless sink might just be a little noisier than a cast iron, or a resin or acrylic sink.

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The sink is stainless. I'm not sure how much of a factor that is. The noise is the loudest towards the end of the the empty cycle. It is a gurgling sound. I would not mind so much except that my house has an "open floor plan" and this means that there are no walls between the kitchen and the family room that borders it. To be honest, it is not that loud. Just that it is now the loudest part of running the dishwasher.

I think I will still swap it out for a better quality unit. I found that Moen and Delta make an air-gap and I should be able to find one that goes better with the brushed nickel finish on the faucet.

I take it your air gap is in the counter?

You can always dispense with the air-gap and high-loop your DW drain under the sink.

Some local plumbing code require them, check first.

As the pump finishes with all of the water, it gets noisey when it has a mix ofr air and water...not much you can do about that.